"The whole world will weep with gratitude when the big day comes because Mr Happer has got his comet!" What Mr Happer really wants is to find a comet. If he does, he'll call it a Happer comet or Happer's Comet or…Comet Happer. Sadly, Happer never gets his comet but he does eventually get an …
Rogue Sky Objects in Japanese Cinema
The opening ceremony of Tokyo 2020 made a massive impact when seemingly out of nowhere a rogue planet appeared in the sky over the Olympic stadium. A shimmering ring gate made of hundreds of drones had morphed into a slowly rotating Earth, like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. In tribute to the drone-made …
It’s the Size of Texas
Inspired by five words, or is it six, in the 1998 blockbuster Armageddon — a movie about an asteroid the size of Texas on course to destroy Earth in 18 days (and a team of deep core drillers sent to break the asteroid in two) — I wondered whether there were any quantifiable clues in …
Every Asteroid and Comet Disaster Movie Ever Made
Compiling a list of every asteroid and comet disaster movie ever made is no easy feat. First, you need to identify potential candidates. Then you have to watch them all, which can be somewhat harder than finding them. Much like asteroids and comet themselves, there's a whole spectrum of content in these dramas, from the …
Continue reading "Every Asteroid and Comet Disaster Movie Ever Made"
Scent from Heaven
Apparently, if you smell a fresh meteorite it smells like sulphur, according to reports about the Tagish Lake meteorite and the aroma that filled the air during its fall in 2000. And the Aguas Zarcas meteorite that fell in Costa Rica in 2019 has been said to smell of compost, vanilla and Brussels sprouts, depending …
Asteroids and Comets Visited by Spacecraft
Graphics showing all of the asteroids and comets visited by spacecraft...
Asteroid vs Comet
From active asteroids to dormant comets, rubbile piles to remnant cores, main belt comets and manx comets to ambiguous interstellar objects, this article provides a brief overview of the smaller objects in our planetary zoo and the main differences — and similarities — between asteroids and comets. But if it's meteors you're looking for, read …
Earth-Threatening Asteroids and Comets in the Movies
It's the end of the year and one particular tabloid newspaper is again warning us that it could soon be the end of the world — yes, asteroid 2019 AE3 is in our vicinity and the apocalypse is coming. In keeping with the tabloid drama, below is a link to a list of all the …
Continue reading "Earth-Threatening Asteroids and Comets in the Movies"
Asteroid Warning!
So there's another apocalyptic asteroid warning in the tabloid news headlines. The lead scaremongerer in the UK is the Daily Express, who started out playfully alerting us to asteroids that will skim by Earth in the coming days. It didn't take long for a war of the digital world to start warning of swarms of …
You must be logged in to post a comment.